


Shaken

by ToastyToaster22



Category: Digimon - All Media Types, Digimon Adventure Zero Two | Digimon Adventure 02
Genre: BE SAFE KIDS, Eventual Comfort, Gen, Heavy Angst, Lots of Hurt, Natural Disasters, No Main Character Death, all the kids are here eventually, but potentially distressing depictions of realistic damage, not graphic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-18
Updated: 2020-01-29
Packaged: 2021-02-27 13:28:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 14,187
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22307935
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ToastyToaster22/pseuds/ToastyToaster22
Summary: They said the shaking lasted 17 seconds.Takeru shook all night.
Relationships: Ishida Yamato | Matt Ishida & Takaishi Takeru | T.K. Takaishi, Takeru Takaishi & Fumiko Hida
Comments: 13
Kudos: 86





	1. Seventeen Seconds

**Author's Note:**

> Being cross-posted from FF.

Takeru blinked groggily. Next to him, his phone beeped incessantly, the shrill sound grating on his ears.

Who the heck was calling him at…?

The thirteen-year-old flopped an arm over to grab his phone off the nightstand with the intention of checking the time. Except when he squinted at the brightly flashing screen, it was no incoming call or text.

Dread flooded him as he squirmed out of the covers, dropping to the floor heavily and rolling under the bedframe.

“Mom!” he cried, not even knowing if she was home or not.

Only the continuing screaming from his cell phone answered him.

Four seconds later, the shaking started.

Takeru curled up as much as the space under the bed would allow, doing his best to cover his head. He heard a low rumble from where he had an ear pressed to the carpet. Things began jiggling and moving around erratically on his desk, his dresser, the nightstand. He flinched when the first item fell to the floor with a muffled thump, his heartbeat ramping up its tempo in his chest.

A crash reverberated up through the floor and Takeru heard someone downstairs shout.

Holding his breath, the boy pressed his face into the crook of his elbow. He prayed for it to end now, please. _Please let it be over. Please, please, please_.

In reply, the apartment seemed to jump, and he swore the whole building swayed. His glass of water toppled over and splashed behind his back, his lamp following after. Thankfully, neither shattered, but something in the kitchen did a moment later.

Every muscle in Takeru’s body was coiled tight, and he gave a frightened cry as what must have been their TV smashed to the ground in the living room. Not even a second later there was a bang like a gunshot and the tinkling of glass raining onto tile.

“Mom?!”

The only response was a cacophony of banging and an unholy groan that sounded like it came from the very bones of the apartment complex.

_Please be over please be over please be over please let everybody be okay._

He had never wanted Angemon to swoop in and save him so badly in his life. But Patamon wasn’t here. Nobody was. He wanted his mom. He wanted his dad _. I want Nii-san so much and nobody is home._

The shuddering died down a few more heart stopping moment later.

His phone was silent.

All he could heart was his own gasping and his pulse pounding in his ears.

Something rolled across the floor somewhere in the apartment.

And then the noises all came back to life at once.

People called to each other.

Smoke detectors throughout the building started wailing.

Something crashed out on the front walkway.

Takeru didn’t want to move. The building stopped shaking, but now _he_ was shaking, and he didn’t want to move, didn’t want to see the state of his home, didn’t want to see anyone hurt, hear anyone hurt, be hurt.

Trembling fingers pressed a button on his phone.

Ten fourteen pm.

No service.

* * *

It was ten eighteen by the time Takeru crawled out from under his bed. The terror of being alone having finally won out against the fear of what was out there.

 _Aftershocks_ , was all his rattled mind seemed to be capable of thinking. _What about aftershocks? Should I wait in the apartment under the bed or under the table? How long does it take for aftershocks to happen? What if that was a foreshock and there’s a worse one coming? No no no, don’t think like that. Oh man, no one in the building knows I’m home alone… I don’t want to be by myself._

He managed to reach up and flicked the light switch. Nothing happened. The power was out. No light shone in from outside either, so it was likely out everywhere.

Takeru took a deep, unsteady breath and pointed the dim light from his phone around his room.

Besides the fact that it now looked like an extraordinarily messy person lived there, there wasn’t anything outwardly dangerous glaring at him.

He pointed the light up to the ceiling and froze.

Trickles of dust and tiny chips of drywall sprinkled down from the far side of the bedroom. He didn’t see any visible cracks, but that didn’t stop the sight from being disturbing.

Slowly, the boy crept across the floor and dragged his backpack out from under his overturned desk chair. He unceremoniously dumped its contents onto the floor and dragged it to his dresser. All the drawers had slid open, so it was easy to stuff some clothes into the bag and take a sizable pile under his arm.

On autopilot, he got up and tugged his door the rest of the way open. A sweep of his phone illuminated a sea of broken glass. A frigid gust of air confirmed that at least one of the living room windows had burst. Takeru dropped some of the extra clothes on the tile and gingerly stepped onto it, repeating the process until he had safely crossed to the shoe rack.

He unsteadily tugged on his snow boots and picked his jacket up off the floor, giving it a good shake before snaking his arms into the sleeves. The thirteen year old tried to ignore the crunching of the glass under his boots as he walked to the fridge. He had to step back quickly when he pulled the door open, and who knew what fell out and added to the mess on the floor.

In the feeble light of his phone, he picked out a couple juice drinks and some fruit. That, along with some snacks from the cupboard (which were mostly on the counter now) went into his backpack as well. He zipped it up, mind oddly blank.

_What am I doing? Am I going somewhere? Won’t Mom come home, and… I should be here, right? The cell towers are out, so how are we supposed to find each other if I left?_

A sudden flash of light and a resounding boom sent the chosen of hope launching to his hands and knees under the kitchen table, heart thundering. His wide eyes peered around the apartment frantically and a sob wrenched its way out of his chest. The echo of the explosion seemed to reverberate across the city and lodge itself in Takeru’s brain. He was sure it must have stopped, but he swore he could still hear it.

Whatever had blown across the bay brought Takeru back to the present. He was suddenly aware that his knees stung, as well as his palms. Sirens howled outside. There were people running beyond the front door. The apartment was getting cold. It smelled funny.

It smelled funny.

_Gas._

He scrambled to his feet, bursting out into the winter air as if the hounds of Hell were after him. Outside was chaos. There were people in the streets, on balconies, voices yelling, the world a flurry of movement in the dark. Hundreds of flashlights sent beams in all directions. Takeru watched the strange sight with growing nausea for a moment or two before taking off for the stairway. There was no one else on his floor, doors hanging open and apartments dark and quiet inside.

The stairway was a different story. Dozens of people streamed down the stairs, hurrying as best they could in the confined space.

Takeru wiped what were probably tears off his cheeks with the backs of his hands before diving in.

Yamato had taken him to a few concerts, and Takeru could say with utmost certainty that the stairwell would forever remind him of a mosh pit.

If the most pit was terrified.

And running down nine floors worth of stairs.

Takeru gripped the strap of his backpack tighter as they rounded the corner of the fourth floor.

_Almost there almost there almost there-_

The building suddenly twitched under their feet and the crowd stumbled as one. Strangers grabbed onto one another to prevent whole groups of residents from tumbling down the stairs. If Takeru had been listening, he would have learned a myriad of new swear words, except the only word in his mind was on repeat.

_Aftershocks aftershocks aftershocksaftershocksaftershocks_

Takeru wasn’t even aware that he had started crying again until someone next to him yanked him close to their chest. His backpack was tugged so that it rested over his head and a strong arm held the boy in place while everyone hunkered down to ride out the wave of shaking.

“Hey, I got you, kid. Okay? I got you. You’re good. Its stopping already.” A masculine voice breathed loudly in his ear.

The blond boy felt himself nodding, and let the man pull him to his feet, the agitated masses moving downwards again. Takeru kept a white-knuckle grip on the stranger’s coat, no idea what he was supposed to do after he was out of the building. The last thing he wanted was to let go of someone who appeared older and calmer than he was.

They spilled out into the road. The icy January air was like salt in an open wound. In fact, it reminded him that he maybe had some wounds. His stinging hands throbbed.

The stranger led them a safe distance from the building and into an area that was slightly better lit with what looked like camping lanterns.

“Kid, you okay? Are you hurt?” The man crouched down in front of the chosen of hope and gave him a searching look. He was younger than Takeru expected. College maybe?

“Kid?” the young man pressed when he didn’t immediately reply.

Takeru startled, blinking down at his hands. One of them was smeared with blood.

“I- I dunno…”

The stranger clicked the light on his own cell phone and peered closely at the cut, holding Takeru’s smaller hand gently with his own.

“I think you’re alright. I don’t see anything stuck in there, its probably just a bad scratch.”

Takeru nodded, not feeling capable of saying anything worth wasting precious breath. He already felt like he wasn’t getting enough air. There were just so many people out here. And sounds. And lights _and where was Mom and what if she wasn’t okay and where was Dad and Nii-san and what if someone wasn’t okay?_

A scream to their right sent them both turning to see what-?

The other man was faster, his face blanched and before Takeru could catch sight of what had made him look like that, and he firmly yanked the boy around.

“Don’t look, okay? Look at me. Just keep looking at me.”

He sounded as stern as could be and Takeru obeyed, blue eyes wide and chin wobbling. Something awful must be behind them, and the thought sent shudders through his already trembling body.

“-you listening? Did you get separated from your family in the hallway? Do you need help finding them?”

“I don’t know where Mom is. I don’t- she wasn’t home yet. I don’t know- I don’t-“

Takeru’s throat finally unstuck but now he felt like he was going to throw up. He heaved in huge breaths and somehow there wasn’t enough _air._

“Shit. Okay, you’re with me then. My name is Mamoru. What’s yours?”

“Takeru!”

The boy’s head whipped in the direction of the cry and Takeru breathed for the first time in twelve minutes.

“Mrs. Hida!”


	2. I'm in Deep, and I Can't Swim

Takeru threw himself into Mrs. Hida’s arms. They locked tight around him instantly, blocking him from the world for a short time. He buried his face into her shoulder and squeezed his eyes shut against a new wave of hot tears.

“-thank you. I will take him-“

Mrs. Hida and Mamoru spoke in a hurry over his head. Takeru’s ears vaguely registered their words, but his brain refused to process. He gulped in deep breaths and felt the smallest stirrings of relief.

It was both a heartbeat and an eternity later that the older woman released him and directed Takeru back toward the crowd by the shoulders.

“-have to come this way, sweetheart. We have to go.”

There was an undercurrent of urgency in Mrs. Hida’s voice that yanked Takeru to attention. Or at least partially. He swore his hearing was tuning in and out like a bad radio. He blinked the lingering water from his eyes and their surroundings sharpened. Enough for him to pick up on the fact that the collective masses were starting to organize with an efficiency that he would admit, days later, was incredibly impressive.

There was a man standing atop a car parked in the middle of the road using a traffic cone as a megaphone. He barked orders to the crowds of residents, using terms Takeru had heard all his life. Casualty sweeps. Evacuation zones. Temporary gathering sites. They’d always been regular words to him. Takeru didn’t think he’d ever be able to hear them again without the echo of this man’s gruff, commanding tone behind them.

Mrs. Hida tugged him further into the throngs, moving him steadily with the flow of anxious people.

He whipped around suddenly, struck by the passing thought that he hadn’t said goodbye to Mamoru. Or thank you, or anything really…

“Where’s Iori?” the chosen of hope blurted out, hurrying a few feet in an attempt to see her face better.

Her grip on his hand tightened painfully.

“He’s with my father in the country. They took the weekend to relax at the hot springs. They should be fine,” she called back over the sounds of approaching sirens.

Takeru’s breath fogged in unsteady patterns in front of his face.

She sounded like she was trying to convince herself as much as she was him.

The crowd bunched up ahead of them, forcing them to slow to a frantic shuffle. Takeru peered ahead and was startled to see families clambering into the backs of all manner of vehicle.

“Let’s go, let’s go…”

Takeru’s stomach clenched at the frustration leaking into Mrs. Hida’s voice.

Where were they _going_?

The man with the traffic cone abruptly called for quiet, and the swarms of people complied out of fear. Crackling radios scattered around the street all blared to life at the same time.

The whole world paused for a few precious seconds, and then the masses surged forward with renewed energy.

Someone pressed into Takeru from behind and nearly took his boot off his foot. He couldn’t feel him knees. The blood in his veins had gone as cold as the air around him.

Tsunami warning.

“Takeru, breathe. I need you to take a deep breath, okay?”

The problem was that he _was_ breathing, hard, and heavy, and fast, and yet somehow he still felt like he was already drowning.

His unfortunately creative mind was swirling with unhelpful facts and what ifs. Odaiba was an island. It only took about six inches of water to float a car. What if his mom was stuck? What if she got swept away, or the apartment came down and they had nowhere to live? What if the tsunami came and-

A shudder underneath him frightened a gasp past his chilled lips. Looking around wildly, the boy was shocked to see that he was riding in the back of a flatbed truck. It drove slowly over the newly cracked pavement, going around the worst of the damage.

Takeru swallowed and hugged his arms around him backpack, which sat in his lap. He pretended his shivering was because of the crisp winter air. Mrs. Hida sat tall beside him, informing the thirty or so other riders about the evacuation shelters they would likely be assigned to. It took his terror addled brain much longer than it should have to remember that Fumiko Hida had been married to a police officer for nearly a decade. She was probably pretty darn familiar with emergency procedures.

He strained to listen to her calm words over the distracting bickering going on behind him. Two older gentleman were in quite the disagreement over how the shape of the bay would affect the speed and height of the wave.

Takeru felt the first stirrings of nausea settle heavily in his stomach.

A few minutes later, a sharp, clear voice echoed back to them from the radio in the cabin. It began mechanically reading off lists of neighborhoods across northern Tokyo Bay, followed by the names of parks and schools on the mainland.

Mrs. Hida and a few others held a finger to their lips to signal for quiet, but no one was talking anymore.

“- _Elementary School. Daiba-ku 4-ban 1-go through 6-ban 16-go temporary gathering site Daiba Park. Evac transport to Mita High School. Repeat. Mita High School. Daiba-ku 6-ban…”_

Knowing where they were going should have put a piece of his mind to rest. He loved Daiba Park, and he’d been to Mita High of a few occasions for basketball tournaments. He liked the school.

What was not reassuring was the immediate dismay and outcry from the adults around him.

“Why the Hell would they send us to the park?”

“Dump us in the ocean, why don’t they?”

“There must be a mistake-“

“Calm down, I’m sure every will be-“

Takeru watched Mrs. Hida try to quell the upset the announcement had caused. Okay, so the park was surrounded by water on three sides… But besides the mall, there wasn’t another place large enough to hold entire neighborhoods worth of people anywhere near the Rainbow Bridge.

Mrs. Hida spared Takeru a glance and he forced a smile, or maybe a grimace, to show he had heard and understood. Which was sort of a lie. He didn’t understand _anything_ right now. But there were kids much younger than him on the truck, and they didn’t seem to be outwardly falling to pieces the way he felt like he was. So he kept it inside. It had only been a short time, but it seemed like the quake had rattled a chunk of his personality right out of him. He was frightened, and beyond that, it was like he had forgotten how he was supposed to feel, supposed to act. What was expected of him in this scenario? School drills hadn’t prepared him for this.

The thirteen-year-old bowed his head and stared down at his hands in the dark, picking at the dried blood on his palm.

He was the chosen of hope, right? He was the one to keep his chin up and be encouraging. To believe that things would get better. He could do that… They’d faced impossible odds before and come out okay. Myotismon. Blackwargreymon. They came out victorious despite the chances.

Then why did this feel so different?

_I’m all by myself. No Nii-chan. No Patamon. Nothing to fight. Just running and hoping I make it…_

Takeru couldn’t help but feel like he’d failed a little.

He flinched when the truck rumbled over a rough patch of road. Blue eyes looked up and saw that the road was filling with vehicles. A strange assortment of trucks and vans. Anything that would carry large numbers of people. Takeru felt bizarrely unsettled by the sight, through it could easily have been mistaken for a normal night’s rush hour traffic. The air carried a terrible energy. This wasn’t hundreds of people trying to get home in time for supper. They were fleeing for their lives.

There were police and other emergency responders everywhere now. There was one on nearly every street corner, directing the traffic quickly and professionally.

An older officer with a wide gap between his front teeth waved them ahead of a small bus and toward the park. Takeru raised his hand out of reflex. Turned out that even a disaster like this couldn’t shake the politeness his mother had engrained upon him. She’d be delighted to hear her years of lectures had made an impression.

The officer nodded in acknowledgement and Takeru’s stomach roiled almost painfully. The police would all get off the island in time too, right? He had to believe that.

* * *

Daiba park was packed. Any other day, Takeru would have laughed and said it looked like a pajamas enthusiast convention. Tonight he just held Mrs. Hida’s hand and let her tug him along, peering anxiously for a familiar face. It was difficult with everyone moving around in the darkness. He’d catch a flash of light on a person’s face and before he could really see, the light had moved already.

The park was organized chaos.

More officers stood on picnic tables with real megaphones in one hand and radios in the other. They took turns reading off districts and directing those residents toward the designated buses.

Takeru stood for a few minutes, teeth chattering and ears straining against the constant noise to make out the periodic announcements. Every time they sent away a bus his anxiety ratcheted up another notch. It held in a heavy ball, tight and cold in his chest.

“Mrs. Hida…?” His voice wasn’t as loud or steady as he had hoped it would be.

She heard him though, squeezing his chilly hand in reply.

“When’s our bus leaving?”

Mrs. Hida didn’t take her eyes off the officer reading reports from Ariake.

“Try to be patient, Takeru. They’re doing the best they can.”

The child of hope swallowed thickly. That wasn’t at all the answer he was looking for. Mrs. Hida’s mind was so obviously focused on her late husband (and probably her son and father as well) that Takeru shut his mouth firmly.

More and more buses pulled away from the curb. Endless vans and trucks dropped people off. Takeru did not recognize a single one. How was that even possible? How were there this many people in Odaiba?

Why did it feel like he was the only one not moving?

Pressure built in his throat. In his chest. Hot behind his eyes. He wished for his brother’s calm. For Taichi’s bravery.

He was neither of those things.

“Mrs. Hida?” he croaked.

“Hmm?”

“I’m not a good swimmer.” His last word broke with a sob, and he couldn’t shove a lid on everything now that he’d cracked. Takeru hiccuped with panicked breaths, eyes wide and tears streaming down his cold cheeks.

“Oh, honey-“

The tears must have started Mrs. Hida out of her preoccupation. She turned to face him for the first time in what felt like forever, her face creased in sympathy.

“No, no, don’t worry about that. We’re already at the park. We’ll be on a bus soon enough, you’ll see. We have plenty of time. They just announced the water’s barely started to rise in Yokosuka.”

Takeru shook his head, feeling so out of his depth.

“I don’t know what that _means_.”

She rubbed his back, the warmth of her hand not permeating his jacket. He leaned into her, wishing someone would scoop him up and take his away from this nightmare.

“Yokosuka is over seventy kilometers from here. Tsunamis speed changes depending on how deep the water is so-“

Mrs. Hida changed tactics at his wide, glazed blue eyes.

“We have at least half and hour before we’re in any danger from the water. I promise. The police know what they’re doing. We will be long gone by the time any water gets near the park, I promise you.”

Takeru struggled to process her reassurances. He felt a tiny bit better, enough to stop gasping, but tears continued to drip onto the collar of his coat. The boy didn’t bother to wipe them away.

It was too dark for anyone to see him anyway.

* * *

Another ten minutes passed.

Takeru let a kindergartener have one of the juice bottles from his bag when she wouldn’t stop badgering her mother for a drink.

Another small aftershock rippled beneath them, leaving him gripping Mrs. Hida a little tighter and missing Mamoru.

He thought he heard Miyako’s boisterous voice, but there was no sign of her glasses or hair anywhere.

Takeru tugged the sides of his hat further down over his ears, wondering when on earth he had put a hat on.

It was ten fifty-three when Takeru heard the call.

“Mita High School! Daiba-ku 4-ban 1-go through 6-ban 16-go! Mita High School, bus twelve! I repeat, bus twelve!”

Mrs. Hida let Takeru drag her through the park as fast as his shaking legs would carry him.


	3. How Long is One Night

Takeru filed in through the doors of Mita High feeling once again like he was disconnected from his own body. He was aware on some level that his feet were frozen in his boots, that his hands had cramped long ago from holding the straps of his backpack so tightly, and that there was a headache throbbing behind his eyes that would not quit. None of it felt real. He just bumped along behind Mrs. Hida as they were directed towards the gymnasium with the last of their bus’s riders. Apparently, all the classrooms were already filled.

The boy wondered if it was healthy to be withdrawing into his own head like this. His friend’s mother kept glancing back at him with worry in her brown eyes. Takeru couldn’t muster the energy to smile back.

If only he could block out the continuous voices around him, then maybe he could pretend he was just exhausted from a bad day at school or something.

“-already saying that Chiba took a serious hit. I’m trying to be optimistic, but…”

Takeru’s hands twitched to cover his ears, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it.

_I don’t want to hear this. I don’t want to hear anything. Can I just go to sleep and wake up in my own bed and this was all some awful nightmare?_

“I’d love to say we won’t be here long, but the airport is probably gone at this point. Roads will be clogged for days. Hope the cafeteria is serving good foo-“

The chosen of hope found himself grateful to the little girl who burst into hysterical tears beside him. Her mother glared half-heartedly at the men and heaved her child up into her arms alongside the toddler she was already carrying.

Takeru winced as they entered the gym, his eyes watering against the lights. Backup generators had been whirring away all along the side of the building when they came off the bus, but Takeru hadn’t really processed that enough to realize it meant…

Heat.

It was warm enough for his hands to start tingling. He sucked a deep breath and hummed in contentment when it didn’t freeze him from the inside out. The first good thing of the night. Well, finding Mrs. Hida had really been the first… Or Mamoru being nice, or you know, not dying, but anyway, the warmth was appreciated. The lights were doing bad things to his headache, but he didn’t care as long as he didn’t feel like a human popsicle anymore.

A hand on his shoulder guided him over to the right side of the gym where people he sort of recognized from their bus were setting up sleeping bags and putting down the few belongings they managed to bring.

“Here, honey. We’ll get set up here and then you can get some sleep if you want, its nearly eleven-thirty.” Mrs. Hida patted his back lightly and knelt on the floor, pulling out a bunch of things from her bag.

Takeru blinked. He peered around at everyone else. Blankets, pillows, sleeping bags…

“Mrs. Hida?” He whispered.

(And how she heard him was absolutely baffling because it was louder in here than his games tended to be.)

“Yes?”

“I don’t-“ He shuffled his feet. “I didn’t bring a sleeping bag?”

The woman didn’t bat an eyelash at his admission. Or why it came out like a question.

“That’s okay, we can share. Here, come have a seat and we’ll see what you’ve got.”

Takeru waited until Mrs. Hida had unzipped the full length of her sleeping bag and laid it out in a big square for the both of them. He dropped his backpack on a corner and slipped his boots off, his brain starting to feel a little more alert in the heat.

“Takeru, you don’t have any socks on?” Mrs. Hida’s tone was slightly alarmed.

The chosen of hope sat and looked down at his pale bare feet. The warm air of the gym was giving him pins and needles in his toes. He clenched them and then gave them a wiggle to rid his feet of the sensation.

“I guess not?” He never wore socks to bed and he’d gotten right in his boots because of the glass…

“You must be freezing! Do you have any socks in your bag?”

Takeru shrugged and ducked his head, biting his lip. In all honesty, he had no idea what he had brought with him. Everyone seemed so much more prepared than he was. Yeah, earthquakes happened in Japan pretty frequently, but the last one that had given anyone any trouble had been when he was nine. All it had done was knocked over a lamp and sent their mail all over the floor. School just taught them to duck and cover, and follow the directions of the nearest adult or police officer. They hadn’t been trained to have a bug out bag. Maybe they went over that when they got into high school? It certainly seemed important now.

“Hey, here you go. You did pack some.” Mrs. Hida handed him a pair of socks from his own bag. Normally he wouldn’t be thrilled at someone going through his things without asking, but his brain obviously wasn’t firing on all cylinders tonight.

An awful sounding little laugh escaped him as he yanked the socks on. They weren’t the _least_ practical he could have packed, but still. They were his basketball socks. The nice part was they went all the way up to his knees. The not so nice part was that they were made to soak up sweat and breathe. To keep him cool, not warm.

Better than nothing.

Mrs. Hida looked like she was keeping her comments to herself as Takeru took off his jacket to exchange it for a heavy sweatshirt from his bag. All he’d had on underneath was his pajama top. A t-shirt. He balled up his jacket to use as a pillow, too tired to be embarrassed by the look in her eyes.

He laid on his side in a loose ball and watched her unpack, heavy eyelids drooping lower with every blink. The sleeping bag barely cushioned the hard floor beneath it, but exhaustion dragged at his every muscle like he’d run a marathon.

Mrs. Hida set out flashlights from her own well stocked backpack, extra clothes, some non-perishable foods, water bottles, a tiny radio, a first aid kit… it went on. Most of the supplies were lined up nicely on the blanket, then returned to her bag. She was taking inventory. She pulled a smaller bag out from her backpack’s side pocket and threw the first aid kit, some water bottles, and a bag of dried noodles. The woman slung that bag onto her back.

And then she slid to the edge of the blanket and put her shoes back on.

Takeru blinked.

What?

“Takeru, honey, I’m going to check in with the volunteers here and see if they need any help, okay?”

_No, not okay._

“I’ll check in on you, but some of these people have little kids or babies and they could use some extra supplies. You just stay here and go to sleep. You won’t even know I’m gone.”

_Yes, I will._

She stood.

“Are you going to be alright?”

 _No. Please don’t go_.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine,” he said for some reason.

_Liar. Liar liar liar…_

Takeru watched Mrs. Hida shoot him an encouraging smile and then make her way back towards the entrance. His stomach lurched when she turned and left his line of sight.

He was wide awake.

* * *

According to his phone, Mrs. Hida didn’t come to check on him until one-twelve in the morning. He spent that time staring with wide eyes at his shaking hands. He picked lint and the stray hair off the sleeping bag and tried to breath evenly. It did little to calm his racing heart. No matter how he rationalized that he was safe, that he was not hurt, that Mrs. Hida had every reason to be helping those less fortunate than him, he couldn’t quell the terrible feeling that he’d been abandoned.

He wanted his parents. He wanted his brother. He wanted his friends. He couldn’t have them, but he had Mrs. Hida, and then she’d _left_.

When he spotted her heading back to their spot, he hurriedly rolled over and shut his eyes. Takeru sucked in a deep breath and let it out slow, forcing himself to be still. He had no reason to be embarrassed for being scared. His freak out in the park was enough of a reason to know that she didn’t care about him being emotional. And yet there was a little voice in the back of his head that said he needed to keep it together. That she was used to having Iori around, and he was calm and collected and rational nearly every minute of the day. And Takeru was older. He should be able to handle this. He shouldn’t stop her from helping people by being a hot mess.

Takeru forced his face to relax when he felt a warm hand rub his back.

She was gone again a minute later.

* * *

This night would not end. Takeru could not understand how a person could go to sleep for eight hours, wake up, and it felt like a very short time. It was five past three in the morning and Takeru was laying on his back, staring at the ceiling like it held the answers to life.

It was a miracle that anyone was asleep in this whole building.

No matter how late it got, they kept the nights on. There were always people up and about, rustling through their bags, babies crying, people arguing in the halls, doors slamming, sirens screaming near and far.

It wasn’t as warm in the gym as Takeru had originally thought. Even though it was way warmer than outside, Takeru’s feet never felt all the way warm. His fingernails remained just a little bit purple. He had forgone his pillow for putting his jacket back on. That was a lot better, but his knees and ankles were still chilled.

Thinking about how cold he was was safer than thinking about his family.

* * *

By four am Takeru had given up on sleeping and was on the lookout for anyone he knew. He stood poised at the edge of the blanket, boots on, and ready to go to a familiar face. He picked at his nails and scanned the gym. There must be over three hundred people crammed into rows of sleeping bags. No matter how many times Takeru looked down each row, there always seemed to be new faces.

It was also exceedingly difficult to see anyone’s face from this angle, but he didn’t want to be a creep and walk up and down the aisles staring at people. Not that anyone really would have been able to blame him.

The chosen of hope let out a sigh and rubbed his hands over his face. He didn’t think he would ever hate the quiet again. Usually he craved people, he loved noise, loved knowing he wasn’t alone.

Well he certainly wasn’t alone here, and his headache was going on five hours. Some quiet would be a blessing.

He pulled off his hat and scrubbed at his hair. It was probably hideous by now, but his head just hurt so much. The pressure had spread from behind his eyes to under them and it coiled around his cheekbones, making even his teeth ache.

Just as he decided to get a sip of water, an unmistakable set of goggles walked by the open doors on the far side of the gym. Even at this distance, Takeru would be an idiot to not recognize them.

_Daisuke._

Heart pounding in his ears, he took off. His boots clumped awkwardly on the floor, but he paid the noise no heed. He’d found someone! He’d actually _seen Daisuke!_

Takeru skidded to a stop halfway across the gym, blue eyes flashing back to his spot by the bleachers. He couldn’t just run off! What if Mrs. Hida came back and he was missing? She’d told him to stay there.

But-

_But Daisuke! He’s okay! She’ll be mad but maybe she won’t come back for a while. And maybe Daisuke has seen Mom! Or Dad, or somebody else!_

He took off again.

“Daisuke, wait!” The chosen of hope’s heart leapt when he caught himself on the doorframe. He took a step into the darker hallway, gasping from his sudden sprint.

“Daisuke?”

The hall was not empty, but there was no sign of the boy. A couple people stopped and turned to look at him, but there was no goofy grin, spikey hair, or hand-me-down goggles. An elderly woman looked at him with so much pity in her eyes that Takeru stepped back, unsure of himself.

He wasn’t there.

He could have gone upstairs. Gone into one of the classrooms. Gone into the bathrooms.

Takeru couldn’t search the whole building.

He stood there, filled with disbelief and disappointment so strong it floored him. The thirteen-year-old was suddenly filled with so much emotion he felt like he could explode. How was this fair? Everywhere he looked he saw families. Moms and dads and kids with grandparents and everyone was sticking together like glue. Snuggled up on their blankets and parents hugging their babies and everyone was together except for him, and his one person kept leaving him, and now he’d seen someone who would care. Someone who might actually give a damn, and he missed him.

Takeru held in a scream of frustration and with robotic steps, walked himself back to his blanket by the bleachers.

Mrs. Hida was not there.

Takeru took off his shoes.

Laid down.

Pulled Mrs. Hida’s side of the sleeping bag over him.

He yanked his hat down over his face and cried himself to sleep as quietly as he could.

* * *

Takeru squirmed against his blanket. His pajama pants were twisted all wrong and his jacket had bunched up in the back. He was hot and cold and uncomfortable and that was just fine, because it matched perfectly with what was going on in his head.

He wasn’t sure if he was actually asleep or caught in that in between realm where half dreams flicker behind your closed lids.

All he knew is that the world was a muddled mess of frantic sounds, panicked voices, and restlessness.

Maybe he was asleep, because it definitely felt like he woke up when a strong aftershock rolled underneath the school.

Takeru’s eyes flew open in his blanket cocoon. He was frozen, and it took him a few seconds too long to remember that he was at the emergency shelter and not riding out the quake from under his bed.

At the sounds of screaming and crashing, Takeru shot to his hands and knees.

A couple ceiling tiles had shuffled out of place flipped down, spinning erratically in the air before landing on the basketball hoops and falling to the floor in chunks. People scrambled out of the way of the debris. Luckily the tiles were lightweight and did not land on anyone directly.

The chosen of hope watched until the people in that corner of the gym got some custodial brooms and cleaned up the mess. His whole body felt cramped, and kneeling on the floor was making his knees ache.

“Takeru? Honey are you okay?”

He started violently, whipping his head around to find Mrs. Hida crouched next to him, a hesitant hand reached out toward him.

“…um…” Takeru’s throat did not want to make words.

Mrs. Hida looked as strung out as a woman pulling an all-nighter could, and yet she still had the energy to be worried about him.

“Have you slept at all?”

Takeru blinked. His eyes were watery and somehow still felt dry. He sat back and pulled his knees up to hug them tight to his chest. Part of him wanted to wash the worry off her face. To make her night easier.

It wasn’t enough to make himself lie again.

“I don’t know. I don’t think so…” he warbled.

Mrs. Hida’s face ran a gamut of emotions before settling into pure fatigue.

“Yeah, me neither.” She scooted over to sit beside him.

He leaned into her side when she draped an arm over his shoulders and pulled him close, not having the heart to still be upset with her.

Takeru didn’t fall asleep until the sun started peeking in through the gymnasium windows.


	4. Don't Let Me See

Takeru had no idea what woke him, but he was stunned to see that it was almost noon. He stared uncomprehendingly at the numbers on his phone, rubbing the sleep from his eyes with clumsy fingers. His head swam, and his neck was sore from using his backpack as a pillow at some point, but at least his headache had receded quite a bit.

The boy sat up and stretched, joints popping in protest.

Four hours on the floor was not even close to a proper night’s sleep, but Takeru was pleasantly surprised to feel even this much better. His thoughts were a little fuzzy, but sleeping had rid him of that awful feeling of having been yanked out of his own body and jammed back in all wrong.

He looked around the gym with clearer eyes, but not much had changed from a few hours before.

The older couple on their right were absent, though their belongings still sat in neat piles in their place. To their left, a mother with a stress lined face tried her best to keep her three small children entertained. One of the toddlers stopped jumping around and stared at Takeru when she noticed him looking in her direction.

And would not stop staring.

“Um, hello?” Takeru offered.

Large brown eyes continued to peer into his soul.

“Kimi, leave the nice boy alone. I’m sorry if she is bothering you,” the woman kindly apologized, reaching out to usher her child away.

Takeru shook his head.

“It's fine, don’t worry.”

The mother tugged her daughter into her lap, still looking towards the chosen of hope. He fidgeted, not sure if she expected something more from him.

“Your mother left an hour or so ago, but she left you a note. She seemed happy that you were still asleep.”

Takeru jolted. Mom had been here? What? When? Why wouldn’t she have woken him up?

He scrambled to grab the piece of paper that had been tucked between his boots, heart pounding in his chest. Wide blue eyes roved over the short note.

“Oh…”

He sagged back on to the sleeping bag, a heavy feeling slipping back into his stomach.

“Not my mom,” he mumbled. “Mrs. Hida is my neighbor.”

“Oh, I’m sorry…”

Takeru sat quietly for a few moments, collecting his thoughts. Mrs. Hida was off helping to organize the volunteer efforts for a while. If he went somewhere, he could just flip the paper over and leave her a note as well. That left him open to go search the school. At the very least for Daisuke. He knew he was here somewhere. Maybe the two of them could look for his family together.

He was hungry, but that could wait.

Scribbling down a quick ‘going to see if I can find anybody’, he stuffed his boots on and hopped to his feet.

“Excuse me? If you do see my mom, can you tell her to wait here and I’ll be back soon? She has light hair like mine, and is about, uh, about his tall. Her name’s Natsuko. I’m looking for my brother too. He looks a lot like me but taller and, I don’t know, cooler? He probably won’t be here, or Dad, they’re in a different neighborhood… but just in case. Actually, if anyone comes by asking for Takeru, could you let them know I’m okay? And I’ll be back? I’m sorry, I know that’s so much… I just don't know where anybody is,” he ended in a hushed voice.

To his relief, the woman simply nodded.

“I’ll do my best.”

Takeru bowed in thanks and started his search.

* * *

Okay, he knew it was hard enough to find a single person in school on a regular day if you didn’t know what class they were currently in… but this was trying his patience. Takeru had canvassed the gym first, doubling back when new people came in and returned to their spots. He’d asked and asked and asked about his friends and family, given descriptions, and said his mother’s name so many times that ‘Natsuko’ didn’t sound like a word any more.

No one remembered seeing someone with her description. And Takeru was fairly certain people would recall if they’d seen someone with blond hair like theirs. It was hard to miss. He’d bumped into two classmates, but they were casual acquaintances, couldn't remember seeing his mom or any of his friends, and weren't much help. It had been heartening to see that they were okay, even as he selfishly wished they were someone else.

After two hours he’d finished the gymnasium and four classrooms on the first floor, he realized he was too hungry to ignore it any longer.

He stepped out of his boots and flopped, boneless, onto the sleeping bag with a sigh. The boy picked an apple out of their bag of shared food and thumped his head back onto his backpack.

“Ow, what the heck?”

Rubbing the now tender spot on the back of his head, he glared at the offending lump in one of the front pockets. It was probably one of his pencil cases that he hadn’t dumped last night. With the intention of moving it to the bottom of his bag, he rolled over and unzipped the small pocket.

What he yanked out was not his pencil case.

“Holy crap, I’m not a total idiot after all.”

In wonder, he flipped open his D-terminal. The brightly lit screen and happy little ‘78% charged’ in the corner brought a giddy smile to his face. He always had his D-terminal on him at school, he just hadn’t realized he never took it out of his bag yesterday.

Takeru smothered a giggle. There was no real reason the thing would send messages, it worked on the cell towers just like his phone, but it felt so much better to hold a useful tool in his hands. His inbox had no unread messages. He couldn’t check his email. It was technically no better than his nearly dead cell phone in his pocket.

A spark of hope flared within him regardless.

 _Anybody out there?_ He typed out.

Send.

Takeru bit his lip in anticipation as the ‘sending’ animation spun.

‘No signal. Re-send when signal available? Yes. No.’

He hummed, not very disappointed at the failure. Maybe because at this point he expected nothing to work. He pressed ‘Yes.’ anyway. It would be a good idea to update everyone once the towers were up and running again. That shouldn’t be too much longer. The police and emergency responders needed phones back and working ASAP. Takeru knew that even when towers were up, civilians were only supposed to make calls when it was absolutely necessary. Would messaging slow things down as well? Too bad Koushiro wasn’t here.

 _I’m okay. I’m with Mrs. Hida at Mita High. Has anyone seen my mom_?

He hit yes to re-send.

Paused.

_Hi Onii-san, I hope you and Dad are safe!_

Yes to re-send.

A tiny swirl of guilt niggled at him _._

_I hope everyone else is okay too! I saw Daisuke last night, but I can’t find him. Dude, when you get this I am in the gym._

Takeru sat back, feeling accomplished despite knowing no one could actually read those messages.

He quickly ate his apple and set off again.

* * *

There was nothing like temporary homelessness to really bring a guy down.

Takeru searched every classroom on the first floor. The first floor. Of four. There had to be thousands of people in this school and how of earth was it possible that no one had seen his mom? He was starting to think she has been far enough from the apartment that she’d been assigned a different emergency shelter.

The bathrooms were never meant to handle this level of waste disposal. Especially not on generator power.

He wanted to change into jeans. But there was nowhere private to do so, and there was no way he was awkwardly changing in the sleeping bag. It just sounded like a disaster, and with like, hundred of people potentially watching… yeah, no.

His stomach grumbled at him again. The apple had not lasted long, and neither had the few snacks he had hastily packed in the dark. Which meant he needed to go to the cafeteria for dinner, where they were serving the masses. Takeru had avoided the place so far because it was the most crowded room in the building and it made him feel extremely claustrophobic. They had also wheeled a TV cart into the corner, from what Takeru had overheard, and it was constantly playing the news. Takeru wanted to know if he could move back into his home. He did not want to see terrible pictures and videos of the destruction.

The chosen of hope stood in the doorway to the dreaded room, clenching the sleeves of his sweatshirt tightly. Noise washed over him, the chattering of hundreds of people mixed with the constant clatter of plates and dished being washed. It was enough to bring his headache back to a steady throb.

He caught sight of the television over the heads of those watching it and for a moment his stomach churned instead of growled.

Maybe he should come back later when it was less crowded? Or no, that would mean that he would be able to hear the news being announced.

Best to get it over with.

_Maybe Mom is in there…_

He took a step, then another, and then weaved himself through the masses to get to the serving line. He was almost there when the group of people he wanted to pass all moved at the same time. He was shunted aside, and almost lost a boot when he tried to steady himself. Now that he’d spun around a little, he wasn’t entirely sure where the line started. Takeru cursed under his breath and resisted the urge to hop to see over everyone’s shoulders.

It took him another minute to establish that he was indeed in line for food, but he made it. A tall man with some serious stubble handed him a bowl with some rice and eggs and he nodded in thanks. Craning his neck to see where he could sit, Takeru shuffled through the mob, a hand hovering protectively over his bowl.

He didn’t _have_ to sit down. There were plenty of people eating standing up, and he doubted anyone would stop him if he went out into the hallway to eat. But if he stood in here he felt like he was in serious danger of someone whacking his arm while he ate and him spearing himself with his chopsticks. The hallway was a better option, but it required getting all the way over to the door, and then when he was finished, pushing his way back to return his dish. It was less work to stay in here. All he had to do was snag a seat as someone got-

There!

Takeru wiggled his way over to the vacant spot as fast as he could, sliding in with a small smile. At least he could eat without the fear of getting stepped on. Whispering a thanks, he dug into his dinner. It was far better than anything he expected to be served at a shelter. It was simple, but cooked well, and it was heavenly.

He did his best to tune out the gossip around him. Who knew if what people were talking about was true? The further he got into his bowl, the harder it was to ignore the chatter.

“I hear there's debris from the tsunami as far inland as Shiba Park.”

“Are you kidding? That’s not even two blocks from here, you think we’d have heard it. Who told you that?”

Takeru chewed as loudly as he could without being rude.

“-all of Toyomicho and Harumi are still underwater, and he had the nerve to tell me things aren’t that bad? Oh, so I should be grateful we had a thirty foot wave and not a hundred?”

“I don’t know how I’m going to manage. My office is gone. Just gone. The whole island has maybe a dozen buildings still standing. How do I tell the kids we have to move out to Chichibu to live with Auntie Naomi?”

Takeru’s hands trembled enough that he had to put his chopsticks down. Regret was coiling in his stomach. He should have eaten in the hallway. This was torture. He wasn’t going to be able to eat anymore.

A large group of older gentleman suddenly stood and took their dishes with them. With no one across from him, Takeru abruptly had a view of the TV.

The screaming anxiety in his chest yelled for him to look away, but his eyes were transfixed on the screen. He couldn’t look away, because…

Because that was Daiba Elementary.

How he recognized it, he had no clue. The place had been stripped almost to its foundation, only the strongest supporting beams standing tall amidst a figurative ocean of debris and seaweed. The text scrolling across the bottom of the screen confirmed it seconds later. Takeru watched, disturbed, as the reporter poked about in the rubble and pulled out a water-logged textbook.

 _Stop watching. Oh my god, look at anything else_.

The scene changed to a helicopter’s view of the coastline, and Takeru swallowed a gag. There were boats where cars should be, water still draining through the streets, and emergency responders swarming the wreckage. The camera zoomed in without warning, highlighting a group of officers pulling a dirty, injured person from under a bodega awning.

Takeru jerked his eyes to the table, breathing verging on hyperventilating. He was actually going to throw up the best meal he’d had all day? Really?

He twisted his hands into the front of his sweatshirt, tugging it away from his throat. It was hot. He was hot. He was too… too something. Too much. All of it. There were way too many people in here and it was too loud and how was this any different from the terrified throngs he was dragged through last night? He wanted Mrs. Hida. He wanted his mom. He wanted a hug, but he didn’t know any of these people and oh my god what if his mom was still out there stuck in her car? What if she was dead?

Takeru stumbled away from the small table, panicked tears blurring his vision.

The woman he had been sitting next to glanced up, startled by his unsteady exit.

“Hey kid, everything oka- wow, alright, you’re alright. Go ahead and get out of here, I got your bowl, okay? Do you want me to walk you out to the hall?”

Takeru didn’t wait for her.

He had to go. He didn't know where he was going, but he had to leave. He needed and wanted things that were nowhere. He knew it was idiotic to leave the school, that the scenes on the TV that had driven him to this state were the reality out there, but his feet kept moving. They kept pushing him towards the only hallway he’d ignored today. The entrance hall. His feet pounded on the tile and his heart pounded in his ribcage.

It was when he turned the corner to where the front doors were when he stopped. He froze, hypnotized by the papers posted all over the right side cork board.

Giant handwritten letters at the top.

‘PARENT SEEKING CHILD’

Underneath was a list. A long one. Each line in a different adult’s handwriting. A name, followed by a location, seeking more names, with ages beside each one.

Takeru’s breath stuttered to a near halt. How mad no one told him about this? All day he’d asked around and no one said to go check the boards? Maybe they’d thought he already knew? It would fit the pattern of everyone else knowing what's going on besides him…

He stepped closer, as if in a dream. Slowly and carefully, he whispered aloud every single one of the ninety two lines.

And then again.

The third time he read through, he swore there was an audible sound to his heart breaking.

There was no Natsuko Takaishi or even Hiroaki Ishida.

No one in this school was looking for him.

Hopelessness clawed at his heart, dragging him down the wall to the floor. Takeru blinked at the dull tiles, disbelief sweeping through him. That had to be wrong. The boy didn’t bother wiping at his tears. He should… he should go back to his spot with Mrs. Hida. She was probably back and wondering where he’d run off to.

 _Or maybe she isn’t even there_.

The invasive thought sent him into a wave of hiccupping sobs. He tilted his head back to lean it against the wall and froze a second time. Blinked to clear his eyes.

Across the hall was a second chart. And emblazoned at the top,

‘CHILD SEEKING PARENT’

Underneath was a collection of messy scrawls. Some by children so young the writing was barely legible. Others obviously written by an adult for a child that was too little to write.

Takeru stood shakily. He should at least write his name. That way if his mom or dad came into the school, they could see that he was here and alone. That was something, right? That was a little hope to hold onto. There was a pen on the floor beneath the paper. He shuffled over and picked it up.

There weren’t nearly as many names here, though there were siblings listed together, so it was hard to really judge.

The child of hope shook his trembling hand out, it would do him no good if someone couldn’t read his bad handwriting.

He bent forward, eyes tracing to the bottom of the paper where a small #37 awaited his name. Except he never wrote it. Because familiar handwriting occupied the one above.

_36) Yamato Ishida, room 359, seeking Hiroaki Ishida, Natsuko Takaishi, and Takeru Takaishi._


	5. Signal Found

Takeru flew up the stairs, paying no mind to how often he caught the toes of his boots against the lip of the steps. He had not fallen down yet, and that was all that mattered.

_Why is Onii-san here? And why isn’t he with Dad? Although, Dad was probably still working, but that doesn’t explain why Onii-san would be sent here. I thought his band practice had been canceled. Doesn’t Shuji have the flu?_

He paused for a second at the third-floor landing, peering down the hall in both directions to try to read the classroom numbers. Last thing he wanted was to waste time going the wrong way.

_322…320…no, not left. Right, 324.Yes!_

Hurrying down the hallway, he nearly knocked into two people. Manners took a slight backseat in his haste, just enough for Takeru to only toss a breathless apology over his shoulder.

_Okay, right has odd numbers… 353,355…two over, there! 359!_

The nameplate outside the classroom said that it was one of the History rooms. Takeru didn’t read it. He stared sightlessly at the handle for a minute, gulping in deep breaths. His heart was trying to jump into his throat. The boy felt mildly like he might throw up, but for a completely different reason than five minutes ago.

All of a sudden he was throwing the slider open and rushing inside, eyes flicking around the room looking for any sign of-

“Onii-san!”

His brother’s head whipped up at his cry, and it was just enough time for him to catch Takeru as he threw himself into his big brother’s lap. The chosen of hope kicked his boots off behind him and clawed his way higher into Yamato’s arms. He locked himself in place. He was never moving. He lived here now.

Yamato’s hands hesitantly touched his back.

“Takeru…? Ho-Holy shit, Teeks!”

And then he was being crushed. Yamato was going to break all his ribs and Takeru wouldn’t give a single damn. He was laughing and crying and verging on hysterical, but this was the happiest he’d been in what felt like years. The boy smushed his face into his brother’s neck, reveling in the warmth of his skin. He could feel his pulse beating. Yamato smelled a little bad, the way teens who haven’t showered that day did. Takeru loved it.

They didn’t talk. There was no reason to say ‘I was so worried’ a hundred times.

Takeru’s body slowly turned to jelly. All his muscles finally gave up being tense, and if he was being honest, he could have fallen asleep if he stayed here long enough. Yamato was here and alive and hugging him so tight he couldn’t breathe very well, but hell if he was going to complain.

“Takeru?”

Takeru hummed.

“My legs are going numb,” Yamato mumbled into his hair.

The boy smiled.

“That’s too bad.”

His onii-san sighed, but didn’t loosen his grip either.

“Not even going to say hi to anybody else? You hear that, Taichi? He’s ignoring you. You specifically.”

Takeru opened his eyes and turned slightly to peek over his brother’s shoulder. Sure enough, two pairs of brown eyes met his. In fact, the whole Yagami family was sitting right next to them. He’d had tunnel vision so bad he didn’t even see them. The adults looked like they were trying to give the brothers some privacy, but they both sported soft smiles.

“Rude,” Taichi said, but his tone didn’t match his words. He was grinning like an idiot and seemed maybe five seconds from joining the hug.

“Hi Takeru.” His best friend sat snuggled into her brother’s side, looking relieved and perhaps a little teary herself.

Takeru soaked in the sight of them, together and alive and mostly unhurt. Taichi had a bruise on his temple, but they otherwise appeared fine. It was almost overwhelming to suddenly have a bunch of people he loved all staring at him.

“Hey guys…” He reached out one hand in a clear invitation.

The Yagami siblings complied easily. Taichi ruffled his hair affectionately, and Hikari sneaked her way into his open arm for a hug.

She pressed her forehead against his, sighing happily.

“I’m so glad you’re okay…”

“You too,” he whispered back.

“We’re right here you know, we can hear you being all gross,” Yamato grumbled.

The two jerked away from each other, blushes heating their faces. Takeru’s only saving grace was that he figured his face was so blotchy from his emotional roller coaster that he doubted anyone could tell.

Hikari huffed, embarrassed and avoiding her big brother’s eyes.

Takeru leaned back, not quite enough that Yamato couldn’t reach him, but so that they could actually see each other’s faces. His brother looked tired, hair messy, dark bags under his eyes, and…

“Why do you and Taichi have matching bruises?” he asked curiously.

Yamato looked away with a funny expression on his face.

Confused, Takeru looked to his friends for an answer.

Hikari looked even more embarrassed, and exasperated to boot. Taichi, on the other hand, crossed his arms, looking proud.

“We both valiantly tried to cover Hikari at the same time. But she was in the middle and we bashed our heads together. I feel no shame. It's big brother instinct.”

Takeru chuckled at the image.

“So did you find each other here, or were you at their apartment, Onii-san?”

“Band practice was canceled, so Taichi invited me over for movies. We were going to invite you too, but I know you had a late practice last night, so we thought we’d let you go to bed early. The shaking started before we even finished the first movie.” Yamato frowned.

“I was asleep,” Takeru mumbled, trying not to think too hard about it.

“Man, that’s a shitty way to wake up,” Taichi said sympathetically.

Yamato shifted like he wanted to get up, but his little brother still sat heavily on his legs.

“Come on, Teeks. Can you show me where you guys are? I want to see Mom, and she’ll flip if you’re gone for too long.”

Takeru’s relief sputtered, a chill lodging itself in his bones once more. He opened his mouth, but nothing came out.

“Takeru? What's the matter?” his brother asked.

The chosen of hope just looked at his brother helplessly, tears welling up against his will.

Yamato leaned forward, gripping his arms firmly. His brows were furrowed with worry.

“Is Mom okay? Takeru, where is she?”

Takeru made a funny hiccupping sound, not sure what he should even say. For reasons that were beyond him, he looked to Hikari for help. And like an angel, somehow she knew what he meant to say.

“She wasn’t home yet, was she? You said last week that she’s been covering shifts for one of her coworkers.”

Takeru nodded.

Yamato looked disturbed, and he held on tighter.

“She wasn’t home? You mean you’ve been by yourself this whole time? How did you even end up here, last night was a shitshow. You were alone all night? God, you must have been terrified.”

Takeru shook his head weakly, taking a slow breath.

“I wasn’t alone, there’s- there’s people everywhere. Some of them have been really helpful. And I… Mrs. Hida and I found each other last night and I’ve been with her, sort of. I mean, I am. She just knows a lot and is helping other people who need it more than me. I’m fine,” He looked down at his scabbed hands and gave his fingers a wiggle. “I just fell on some glass, but I’m okay. Lots of people need her help more than-“

“Takeru.”

The boy looked up when Taichi used his leader voice. The older teen softened his tone when he continued.

“Just because you’re _unhurt_ , doesn’t mean you’re _okay_.”

Takeru didn’t know if that was the exact right, or exact wrong thing to say, because those words destroyed every single thing he’d told himself all day.

A hideously loud sob ripped its way out of his chest. Yamato pulled him back into an embrace, muttering some words Takeru was sure Dad wouldn’t want him to be saying.

“I just, I want Mom and I didn’t know where anybody was! And Mom was probably driving and what if she got into an accident or she didn’t get off the island in time? Or, or she’s alive but stuck out there and nobody can get to her… The apartment is all messed up and the windows broke and- and there was dust in my room, but I don’t even know if any of its there anymore. I don’t know anything and I barely slept and stuff fell from the ceiling in the gym and-and I can’t! I can’t- I wanna go home- “

Taichi was rubbing his back, and Hikari held one of his hands so tight it hurt, but it was good and grounding.

His brother curled around him, as if he could protect him from the awfulness of reality. Because nothing Takeru was saying was irrational or unreasonable in the least.

Yamato’s eyes burned.

“I know, buddy. I’m so sorry. We’ll stick together and do our best to find Mom and Dad. You won’t be alone, okay? You have me, and I’m sure the Yagami’s won't let us out of their sight. They haven’t yet. Its okay, just let it out…I've got you…”

Yamato didn’t stop his quiet assurances until long after Takeru stopped crying.

The four of them sat slumped together against the wall for a while. Takeru was only half awake, but he was warm and felt safe for the first time in twenty-four hours. He wasn’t sure how it had only been one day. Last night felt like it could have easily been a week ago.

A thought drifted through his head, just important enough to stop him from nodding off entirely.

“Mrs. Hida is probably looking for me,” he said dully.

Mrs. Yagami stood up.

“We’ll go let her know that you’ll be staying with us. Where are your things? We can bring those back too,” she helped her husband to his feet so he could join her.

Takeru peered tiredly up through his hair at them.

“Um, I have a backpack, but that’s it. It's down in the gym. We’re about three quarters of the way across if you come down the front stairs. Green sleeping bag. My backpack is yellow. Thank you so much.”

“You’re welcome, sweetie. We’ll be right back.” Mrs. Yagami ran a motherly hand through his hair before they turned to leave.

Takeru watched them go, pushing away from his brother a little.

“Mrs. Yagami?” he called right before they reached the door. “Can you tell Mrs. Hida how much I appreciate her help?”

They shot him understanding smiles and nodded as they left the room.

Takeru sighed, turning back to his brother and friends.

“Have, have you guys seen anyone else? I saw Daisuke last night for a second but I didn’t catch him. I know he isn’t down on the first floor. I would have found him when I was looking for Mom.”

“What I want to know is how I missed _you_.” Yamato frowned. “Taichi and I searched the gym twice and we never saw you down there.”

Takeru was surprised, but then again, he’d spent a lot of time today walking the school.

“When were you there? I didn’t leave at all until like, twelve-thirty today.”

Bafflement took over his brother’s face, and Taichi answered instead.

“It was mostly this morning. We went around trying to find anyone we could and it was like… eight? And then again around eleven.”

“Oh,” Takeru bit his lip. “I was definitely there. But I didn’t sleep at all last night, so I slept all morning.”

“Sleeping doesn’t make you invisible, Teeks.” Yamato smiled a little, not sure what his little brother meant.

“Yeah, I slept with the blanket over my head.” He said it in a hurry like that would stop it from sounding silly. “Why are you guys looking at me like that? They had the lights on, okay?”

As it turned out, Hikari and her mom had taken a look around the school that morning as well. Their search had been more fruitful. Miyako and her family were mostly unhurt (some general bumps and scrapes) and were up in a language lab on the fourth floor. No one else had seen Daisuke though, and Takeru was starting to think he’d been hallucinating.

Taichi and his mother went down to the cafeteria when both Takeru and Hikari’s bellies began growling around nine fifteen. Yamato looked terribly concerned when Takeru downright refused to go into the café, but he didn’t press him. Hikari leaned into his side and squeezed his hand.

“Taichi won't even let me go in there,” she whispered.

Takeru squeezed back.

“Good.”

They came back a few minutes later with packages of dried rice cakes, and the group nibbled on them while playing cards.

Hikari was the first one to start yawning, which set them all off. Mrs. Yagami declared they all needed their sleep and to go to bed. It was an understatement really, seeing as no one had gotten much shut eye since Thursday night.

Takeru laid down with his brother, his backpack a pillow once more. This time however, he was happy to snuggle up for bed. Yamato shifted beside him, making sure their blanket blocked out a good portion of the lights.

“Onii-san?” he asked hesitantly.

“Hmm?”

The chosen of hope absently picked at his scab.

“How long do you think we’ll be here?”

His older brother took a moment, gauging his answer.

“I know the same amount as you, Teeks. They’ll make an announcement when civilians are allowed back onto the island. Until then we sit tight. Together.”

Takeru nodded. He inched closer, threading his fingers with Yamato’s. “Okay.”

It didn't take him long to drift off, Yamato’s steady breaths puffing gently into his hair.

No more than a few minutes later, the peace was shattered. Every phone in the building was suddenly ringing, beeping, buzzing, or singing. An absolutely earsplitting cacophony of electronic alerts.

Takeru flailed in terror, trying to grab hold of Yamato while completely disoriented.

_Not again, not again, please not again-_

“Woah, Takeru! Hey it's okay!” Yamato yanked him up to sitting, blue eyes wide but calm.

Takeru wasn’t the only one who'd been severely frightened. Crying rang through the building, followed immediately by a louder wave of laughing and joyous whoops.

“Teeks it's fine, look!” His brother grabbed his phone and pointed to a teeny set of lines in the top corner. “The towers are up!”

They had service.

Takeru snatched his phone up and laughed.

One missed call. One message.

There was only one person who would have been able to make a call this whole time.

Hikari giggled next to him.

“Who else has messages from Mimi?”

“I feel kind of awful that no one could answer her,” Taichi started, but then he was cut off by all four of their D-terminals pinging frantically.

Takeru grabbed his and plopped himself into Yamato’s lap, holding it out for all of them to see.

“All right, guys, you ready for this?”

Hikari and Taichi squashed in close.

Takeru flipped the screen open and whistled.

_You have 50+ messages in your inbox._


	6. Inbox

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had WAY too much fun writing this chapter.

67 unread messages

Read now? Yes. No.

Friday, January 24th

10:42pm (Miyako) _Holy shit holy shit is everyone okay???!_

10:43pm (Miyako) _shit there's no service_

10:55pm (Sora) _Is everyone alright? I don’t expect any answers now, but please check in when you can?_

11:02pm (Mimi) _Oh my gosh!! I saw the news when was getting ready for school! Is everyone okay??_

11:31pm (Ken) _I hope all of you are unhurt. My parents and I have been moved to Keio University’s science building. We are fine, but our apartment is tilting._

11:34pm (Sora) _Is anyone else at Akabane Elementary?_

11:40pm (Taichi) _Everyone check in when you get service. I’m with Hikari and Yamato in Mita High, none of us are hurt._

11:41pm (Hikari) _I hope you’re all okay <3_

11:49pm (Jyou) _I’m fine, and I hope you all are too. My brothers and I are helping out with treating people at Akabane Elementary_.

11:55pm (Mimi) _Mama and Papa are letting me stay home from school. What’s going on over there? Someone please answer I know you are busy, but please..._

11:58pm (Koushiro) _I don’t really know what I expect from this, seeing as I know the D-terminals run off the cell towers, but I’m going to see if I can get messages through anyway_.

.

.

Saturday, January 25th

1:06am (Daisuke) _This guy in my room is snoring so hard I keep thinking its more aftershocks. I’m never going to sleep._

1:11am (Daisuke) _I’m okay though. At that Mita school we crushed in the soccer championship last year. Up in 217. Someone come hang out with me. Jun won’t stop hugging me and I don’t know what to do?!_

1:19am (Yamato) _Does anyone have eyes on my dad? Or Mom and Teeks?_

1:37am (Mimi) _Guys guys pleas somebody answer me I saw the tsunamifootage and I know it's dark there but everything is gone somebody say something! The schools are underwater sna d the airport well Haneda is gone. I know there is no service but still please like, Koushiro you gotta find a way to fix this._

.

2:09am (Miyako) _Howthe hell to they expect anyone to sleep with all these effing lights on? That’s awful but I am so tired and I can't sleep. I hate this. I miss Poromon…_

2:33am (Iori) _I assume no messages can get through, but Grandfather and I are okay. The hot springs didn’t take much damage. There is water everywhere though. I hope everyone is okay. Has anyone seen my mom? Maybe Takeru or Miyako? Please let me know. Thank you_

2:42am (Daisuke) _worst sleepover ever_

.

3:08am (Koushiro) _I don’t seem to be able to make contact with anyone, even in the digital world. I’ll keep working on modifications._

.

4:13am (Daisuke) _Did one of you call my name?? I was downstairs with Dad and I thought I heard someone but Dad wouldn't let me go look. I’m still in 217_

4:22 (Koushiro) _I am in Akabane Elementary. Mom and Dad send their best_

.

5:05am (Ken) _Is everyone alright? That aftershock was huge. We are still okay, though some of the windows are cracked now._

5:05am (Miyako) _OH MY GOD I WAS ACTUALLY SLEEPING. Is anyone around? Holy crap something fell out of the ceilin I hate this so much I am going to scream_

5:05am (Sora) _I can’t handle this, are you all okay? Please tell me if you’re okay? XOXOXOXO_

5:06am (Daisuke) _What the FUDGE the window just exploded all over me and mom!? We’re okay. I mean, as okay as I can be while an old lady picks glass out of my hair_

5:06am (Taichi) _Shit. Is everyone okay? Let me know ASAP_

5:07am (Jyou) _I am trying to be optimistic but this is terrible_

5:10am (Mimi) _guys you cantdo this to me_

5:14am (Yamato) _Takeru let me know that you and Mom are okay as soon as you can_

.

.

6:39am (Iori) _I would like the power back here. There are no generators and it is cold._

6:58am (Sora) _I love all of you_

7:03am (Jyou) _I miss Gommamon_

.

.

8:25am (Jyou) _Hey guys, I found Koushiro! He is okay and here with me at Akabane_.

8:26am (Koushiro) _Here with Jyou. Still can’t get email up and running. I will keep working on it. Jyou says I need to sleep but I disagree_.

8:41am (Daisuke) _this breakfast is probably gunna suck_

8:42am (Daisuke) _I wish I’d stayed upstairs this cafeteria is like a million people past max capacity_

8:56am (Daisuke) _I take it back. The food is made by angels._

8:58am (Daisuke) _OH NO KEN ARE YOU OKAY?? THE REPORTERS R IN TAMACHI N SO MUCH OF IT SUNK INT O THE BAY! WHAT THE ACTUAL HELL IS A LIQUIFICATION ZONE_

.

9:33am (Miyako) _I love them but my family is stressing me out_

.

.

11:07am (Mimi) _I haven’t moved off the couch all day. I can’t believe this is happening. I can't stop watching. I love everyone._

11:24am (Ken) _I can’t believe I fell asleep. Koushiro, is there any way to contact our partners?_

11:39am (Sora) _I’m with Jyou and Koushiro!!! We’re all okay and together, only some bumps and bruises!_

11:40am (Jyou) _Found Sora!_

11:40am (Koushiro) _I am now with both Jyou and Sora_.

11:51pm (Yamato) _there is no reason Mom and Takeru wouldn't be in this effing building. Where the hell are you. There are too many friggin people in this stupid school_

12:19pm (Taichi) _Takeru if you are in here somewhere, do me a favor and appear, okay? I’ve got both Yamato and Hikari on my back_

.

2:18pm (Takeru) _Anybody out there?_

2:20pm (Takeru) _I’m okay. I’m with Mrs. Hida at Mita High. Has anyone seen my mom?_

2:21pm (Takeru) _Hi Onii-san, I hope you and Dad are safe!_

2:22pm (Takeru) _I hope everyone else is okay too! I saw Daisuke last night, but I can’t find him. Dude, when you get this I am in the gym._

.

.

4:56pm (Sora) _Nobody panic, but does ANYONE have eyes on Takeru? We just found his mom here at Akabane but she said he was home alone! And that the Hida’s are gone for the weekend. They need to get the towers up and running again, I’m trying not to freak out but Mrs. Takaishi is so upset. Miyako is he with you?_

4:57pm (Koushiro) _We are with Mrs. Takaishi. Does anyone know where Takeru is? He is not with her_.

4:57pm (Jyou) _Takeru and Yamato, we have your mom here. I checked her over and she only has a minor concussion. She was caught in a pile up when the earthquake hit._

4:59pm (Sora) _She says Yamato was probably home alone too. Can either of you respond? Oh my god I can't stand that I have no idea when you will read this_

5:03pm (Taichi) _guys this blows_

5:04pm (Sora) _Boys! This is your mother. I just want to say I love you both so much. Please be okay and message or call me back as soon as you have signal. I don’t care if you clog the phone lines. I’m okay and I need to know that you are both safe and doing alright. I love you_

_._

6:41pm (Iori) _I wish Armadimon was with me_

6:49pm (Daisuke) _Did I just hear Miyako? How the heck can’t I find anyone? This school is too big_

.

7:11pm (Hikari) _WE FOUND TAKERU! He says he was home alone when the earthquake happened, has anyone seen Mrs. Takaishi?_

7:18 (Taichi) _Well we’ve got Takeru and Yamato here with my family, but we don’t know where either of their parents are. Can anyone help us out?_

7:29pm (Mimi) _I couldn't get to Japan through the digital world, but I found all our partners and brought them back to my house. Mama and Papa are okay with it. Sort of. I will be keeping them here until we hear from you. They all say hi and they love you._

.

8:12pm (Mimi) _How do I get Patamon and Piyomon to stop crying, even Palmon doesn't cry this much_. _Taichi if you turn out to be fine after all this, I am sending you a grocery bill. Agumon is stress eating_

8:13pm (Koushiro) _I spoke with some of the line workers and they said the towers will be up and running before midnight_

8:18pm (Mimi) _nvm Gabumon is a hero. I let each of them call you and leave a message_

8:27pm (Ken) _Takeru and Yamato, my parents found your dad. He’s really worried about you both, but he’s okay otherwise. He says he hopes he sees you soon. We probably aren’t all that far away from each other._

.

.

9:44pm (Miyako) _I found the doofus_

9:44pm (Daisuke) _I found the loudmouth_

End of unread messages. Delete? Yes. No.

You have one new voicemail. Eight fourteen pm, January 25th

*beep*

_“Of course I know how to use the phone Mimi! Let me have it please! Takeru! Takeru, it's Patamon! I’m waiting here in America with Mimi and the others. Please be okay! I’ll be there as soon as the internet is back up, I promise! Gabumon say- stop it guys- well, everyone says hi. No, Mimi I want to keep talking! What do you mean there’s a time limi-“_

*beep*

Takeru let out a wet chuckle and flipped his phone shut. He leaned back into Yamato’s chest and listened to the tail end of Gabumon’s much less frantic voicemail. His brother huffed, smiling softly when it was over.

“You’re not going to message anybody?” Yamato teased lightly. “Usually you’re so chatty in the group messages.”

Takeru shook his head, snuggling further into his brother’s sweatshirt.

“Hikari’s got it covered.”

The chosen of friendship looked over to where the Yagami siblings were hunched, Taichi leaning over his sister’s shoulder and dictating to her. Hikari’s fingers flew, only pausing to wipe the stray happy tear off her cheeks. All four of their D-terminals pinged every few seconds with the barrage of messages.

“Yeah, looks like it.”

The brothers took a moment to just soak in their relief. There was a long road ahead of them, but for now, this was enough.


End file.
